Thursday, 26 January 2012

Thanks to the brilliant photographer Alan Hutchinson http://www.alanhutchison.co.uk/ I now have a swanky new tool to create a (hopefully) top notch blog, Beavering away at the moment and will let you know when its up

Tuesday, 10 January 2012

Finally, the cheese has been polished off and all that's left inside the quality street tin are coconut ones.
I do hope you all had a great Christmas, and many congratulations if you are new to this blog after receiving a sparkly, round thing, delivered on bended knee over the holiday period.

If you are in the early stages of planning your big day, you will no doubt be dragging the "other half" round the assortment of wedding fairs (I shall be in attendance at the Cliffs Pavilion wedding fair on the 15th April 11am - 4pm) checking out the wedding sites on the internet and will probably have a steady pile of magazines growing in the corner.

For those who are are getting married this year and got an excitable shiver when big ben struck....the countdown is on.

All of you should be assured though, that of all the couples i have captured in the 17 or so years I have been photographing weddings, not one has said the day was anything short of amazing.

If there is one thing to take from the programme "Dont tell the bride" it is, no matter what goes on before the wedding date, come the big day, as long as all your favourite people are around you, it will all slot into place....2012...bring it on

Saturday, 19 November 2011

Crondon park in Stock was the setting for Nicola & Nathan's big day, and your trusty photographer not only had a really lovely couple to work with, but also an autumnal canvas of light that made for some lovely pic opportunities.
The final wedding of 2011 was a great one to sign off to, here are Nicola's observations and thoughts about her special day.

In the build up to your big day, what excited
you the most and what (if any) anxiety’s did you have?
The thought of actually being married was the most exciting thing for us both.
From the beginning, it's always been the thing that we were both looking forward
the most. We were also excited for all of our family and friends to be together
as it's not often that you have everyone you love in the same place at the same
time!

Can you describe how the pair of you felt on the
morning of your big day?
Super excited but also a bit nervous. Nathan was worse than me however his
morning was pretty hectic with sorting things out! There's nothing like leaving
things until the last minute!

If you had your chance to do it all over again,
what (if anything) would you do different?
We wouldn't change a thing! If we could, we'd do the day all over again
tomorrow.....and next Saturday.....and the Saturday after that!

What advice would you give my future brides
& grooms to be?
Enjoy every minute of it and not just the day itself! Try to enjoy the lead up
to it as well as its all part of it. Don't let the planning stress you
out.....just keep reminding yourself what your doing and why you're doing it.
It's all about the two of you!

I was really anxious about the whole thing as
being centre of attention is my worst nightmare! However I really surprised
myself and family/friends because when the day arrived I loved every second!

Wednesday, 26 October 2011

If you got married before the millennium, chances are you booked your supplier through the local directory and sort inspiration from a wedding magazine. Then came the 21st century,and the internet came to be part of our lives. The wedding industry expanded into websites which complimented and worked along these traditional stall wards.

The turn of this decade saw a new word enter our vocabulary - blogging.

In their infancy blogs started out as on-line diary's, they have since grown to be electronic pin-boards where the authors document all their internet discoveries alongside personal thoughts.

Wedding bloggers in particular are instrumental in moving the wedding planning goalposts once more, not just offering advice & inspiration, but also setting the trends.

Wednesday, 14 September 2011

I have been participating in baby boot camp, so i haven't been posting much recently, normal service soon to be resumed...got loads of good wedding stuff to share with you all. In the meantime may i introduce you all to my little Frankie

Wednesday, 20 July 2011

Emma & Will's big day was at Parklands - Quendon Hall, the forecasted rain showers never materialised and the happy couple and their guests were able to enjoy a pimms or two in the venues magnificent grounds...even the deer made a well timed appearance...here are Emmas thoughts on her big day

In the build up to your big day, what excited you the most and what (if any) anxiety’s did you have?

The biggest anxiety I had was not knowing how everything was going to look all together and if the venue would do everything the way I wanted it done but they were very good and the whole day came together just the way we had planned it. I also was very excited about the whole day and did not want it to go too fast, unfortunately we could not control this bit but we enjoyed every minute.

Can you describe how the pair of you felt on the morning of your big day?

I as the bride was very calm and could not wait to see Will. I just sat back on the morning of the wedding and took everything in. However Will was the opposite, he was very nervous and did not know what to do with himself J

Past bride & grooms-to-be have told me that any nerves they had on the day subsided the moment they came together in the ceremony room, would you concur with this?
Most definitely once you are together it is almost like the pressure is off and you can start enjoying your day together.

If you had your chance to do it all over again,what (if anything) would you do different?

We would have had the whole day professionally recorded.We got a family member to do this but the video camera broke down before the speeches so we did not capture the whole day, which was a shame because the day goes so fast and we would have loved to look back on it.

What advice would you give future brides & grooms to be

Enjoy the day and be calm, don't worry about anything as come the day there is nothing you can do, and to be honest, you will not notice if something is not in the right place or even if not everyone turns up.

Also make sure you take time out throughout the day to find each other because the day is about you two and you don't want to look back and think that you did not get the time to enjoy it together.

Friday, 3 June 2011

Group shots (depending on your way of thinking) arean integral part of the day or a necessary evil.If your thinking is of the later, it is largely due to experiencing a photographer at a past wedding who hasn't managed their time efficiently.Group shots that are done swiftly,and with minimum fuss, can play a vital part in piecing together the story of your wedding day.

Take Hugo Burnand's recent royal wedding photographs as an example.

Of the 3 images realised,it was the last group picture of the bride & groom with the children that turned out to be everyone's favourite shot.There was a degree of posing,but it looked natural and captured the children's oblivion to all the pomp & ceremony going on around them...Hugo Burnand has since explained that he only had 4 minutes to grab this shot,which dispels the commonly held belief that group shots take up huge amounts of time.

The main reason for couples dreading group shots is the fear of being stuck in the same place for ages, forcing a smile akin to Chandler Bing on friends, but it need not be this way.

Each wedding is different,and though there are sometimes requirements to be factored in (ie - parents are separated) but my view is the majority of the group photographs should take no more than 20 minutes to achieve

There are a group of shots that i always make sure i capture (i have listed them below) These images are your archive,and as the years go by these will be you reference to remind you of the guests in attendance.

If you wanted more groups photographed -ie sisters/brothers, nans, favourite uncles, stag/hen nights ect,then instead of rooting you to a single spot we can get these done in a more informal manor, utilising the various surroundings of your wedding venue.

Time is so precious on your wedding day, and alongside the groups we need to be sure to get the natural reportage style shots of everyone enjoying themselves, alongside those lush pics of the bride and groom.

Good organisation of your group shots is the key to making sure you have plenty of time to quaff that bubbly with all your favourite people

About Me

My website www.leewaymont.co.uk, has the information you require regarding my photography service,with a portfolio for you to view

So, what to do when dipping my toe into the blogging world?

Well, I thought I would draw on my experience as a photographer by offering my pennies worth on all aspects of your big day.
Letting you know about some cool ideas I've picked up, giving some information you may find useful and of course popping some pics of weddings I have photographed for you to have a nose at.